Brick shortages threaten housing targets, warns FMB

Published: 27 April, 2015

The increasing shortages of bricks and bricklayers will threaten future house building plans, warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Commenting on the results of the FMB’s latest State of Trade Survey for Q1 2015, Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said: “How to solve the housing crisis has been one of the hot topics during this General Election campaign and we welcome the renewed focus on house building by all the main parties. Although each party has its own distinct plans for how the next government should boost house building, all of them agree it must be a priority. However, the results of our latest State of Trade Survey expose continuing threats which could undermine their plans.”

Mr Berry continued: “Half of all construction SMEs – that’s one in two firms – are finding it difficult to recruit bricklayers. 62% of firms are waiting for up to two months for new brick orders while almost one quarter are waiting for up to four months. An additional 16% are waiting for a staggering six to eight months. The brick manufacturers are working hard to reignite their kilns, which were mothballed during the recession. However, in the meantime, let’s make sure small local house builders are not overlooked in favour of large house builders when it comes to manufacturers meeting requests for new bricks.”

In terms of skills, the ever-growing lack of bricklayers is causing concern, according to Mr Berry, who concluded: “Compared to this time last year, more than twice the firms are reporting difficulties recruiting these tradespeople. In the short term, many SME house builders may have to rely on migrant labour. To ensure we have an ample supply of skilled workers in the future, the next government must ensure it sets the right framework in terms of apprenticeship funding and apprenticeship standards. Also more construction firms – large and small – need to willingly engage with training. After all, there’s strong evidence to suggest that training apprentices is good for business.”

Sales of building materials through UK builders merchants remained strong in Q3 2016, the first three months following the Brexit vote. The latest figures from the Builders Merchants Building Index (BMBI) appear to buck the downward construction trend reported by the ONS earlier this month.